Liquid feeding device



11, 1943- c. w. MORSE 2,327,124

LIQUID FEEDING DEVICE Original Filed Dec. 10, 1941 gm r w m R QZSnnentor Q; 4 CkarZas' W 021% 8 N u mmwvm Gttornegs.

Patented Aug. 17, 1943 Y UNJTE D V STAT-ES PATENT O FF ICE LIQUIDFEEDING sorry-Ion v Chafles'W. Morse, Anaconda, Mont.

brigina lapplicafion December 1'0, 1941, Serial No. 422,464. Dividedkandthis application August 4, E1942, Serial $10,453,587

6 Claims. (015221-97) The present invention relates to improvements inliquid feeding devices and is a division of my co-pending applicationSerial No eZZAfirl, filed December 10, 1941, entitled Automatic samplersand liquid feeding devices. I

The invention has for an object to dispense ex.- actly regulatedquantities of reagents, such as oilsracids or the like, in chemical andmetallurgical plants, and to provide a device for pur pose which issimpleami cornpact'in construction and requires a minimum of operatingand maintenance attention.

A further object of, thisinvention in liquid as shown in Figure 3, inorder that the discharge feeding apparatus is, to provide a device ofthe 7 character described, which shall operate ata con.- stant speed ofrevolution, but still :be capablc'of vol"! exact adjustment in order tovary and close- 1y regulate the quantity of liquid dispensed.

A further bject of the invention is to provide a form of apparatus eually applicable for use in sampling and liquid feeding and'which hasthe characteristic objects of both devices as here inbefore set forth.

With the foregoing and otherobiects in view, the invention will be morefully described hereinafter, and will be moreparticuiarly pointed" outin the claims appended hereto.

In the drawing, wherein like symbols refer to like or correspondingparts'throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a liquid feedin apparatus complete asconstructed in accordance with the present invention Figure 2 is alongitudinal section taken along the line 2=-2 of Figure 1. v

Figure 3 is a:transvers'e section taken on an enlarged scale along theline 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a vertical fragmentary section taken on the line 4W4 inFigure 3; I g v Figurefi is aisimilar View taken on he line 5-! inFigure 3..

Fi ure 5 is a fragmentary lonsitudinalsec-tim similar to Figure 2 butshowing a different form of adjustable supportfor'thc hinged platform-Referrin more p r icularly to he drawin 31 designates a reagent tank; inwhich a supply of liquid 32 is mainta ned at a constant level by meansof a supply pipe 33. and an overflow weir 3, A feeder shaft 35,rotatably carried in bearlugs 36, extends across the tank 3|. The shaft35 is hollow or tubular and allixed to the same are onccr more te dschool i, wh h are @180 hollow and which communicate with the in eri roi the hollow shart 35 by in ernal op nings- The scoops 3'! are alsoprovided with external or openings 49 can discharge directly into liquidlaunders or troughs 43. These troughs are disposed in the spaces betweenthe scoops as shown in Figures 1 and 3. The shaft 35 may be rotated inany suitable manner by hand or power drive. In Figures 1 and 2 I haveshown a sprocket 44 aff xed to one end portion of the shaft 35, whichsprocket is driven by a chain ts, from drive sprocket' is on thearmature shaft of an electric or other driving motor 4?. The motorassemblyand the feeding device are all carried upon a tilting frame orplatform 43. At its end adjacent to motor 41, the tilting platfor 58 issupported upon pivot pins 49, which in turn are held in pin sockets 5the latter being supported on extension 51 of reagent tank 3!. At itsother end, which supports bearings 36, the tilting frame 48 is equippedor formed upon its underside with 52. Complemental adjusting wedges 53cooperate with the surfaces 52 and are slidably supported in brackets orextensions 54 of the tank 3!. Eorizontal movement of the adjustingwedges 53, at right angles to the axis .of shaft 35, is elfected bythreaded adjusting screws 55, equipped with lock nuts 56 which passthrough tapped holes in fulcrum lugs 51 which are rigidly attached toextension 5 of the tank 3!. l I

The operation of the device as a liquid feedin apparatus is as follows:

, As the hollow shaft 35 is rotated by the motor i1 and its drivearrangement, in the direction of the arrow shown in Figure 2, the scoops37 enter,

pass through and leave the pool of liquid 12 in the tank 3i; and duringtheir passage dip up a quantity of liquid 32, which passes into thescoops 31 through the external openings 39; the quantity of liquiddipped up being determined by the degree of submergence of scoops 31 inthe liquid body 52. When the shaft 35 reaches a position in which theinternal openings 38 are on top, the portions of liquid contained in thescoops 3i pass through internal openings 38 in the compaltme nts i2 andthence out through discharge liquid dioped per revolution by scoops 3?,look nuts 56 are first backed off, then adjusting screws 55 are turnedso as to force wedges 53 in an inward direction (to the left in Figure2), thus:

outer wall 3? requires on rotation that the charge of liquid movetherealong rearwardly until it impinges against the outer portion of therear or trailing wall; and as the latter rotates in follow-up of thearcuate wall 31 it forms an inclined runway for diverting the sample tothe outlet 38. All of this action tends to keep the sample away from thefront wall so that the front wall need be solid only for a shortdistance outwardly from the shaft 35 sufficient to form a breal: wateron the opposite side of outlet 38 from the rear wall along which thefluid is movmg. i

swinging tilting frame d8 upwards about the center provided by pivotpins 39. The direction is shown by the upper of the arrows B in Figure2.

Such movement acts to elevate bearings 3'3, shaft 35 and the feed scoops37, decreasing the degree of submergence of the scoops 32 in the liquid32,

and thus decreasing the quantity of liquid dipped up by them.

Conversely, turning of the adjusting screws 5 in the opposite directionwill withdraw. the wedges 53 toward the ri ht, permitting bearings 36and shaft 35 to move downward in the path indicated by the lower of thearrows B in Figure 2. Thus the scoops 37 are submerged more deeply inthe liquid 32, thus causing them to dip up a greater quantity of liquidper revolution. Lock nuts 56, when tightened against lugs 57, loclz themechanism firmly in the position selected.

It will be noted, particularly from FigureZ, that in side elevation orlongitudinal section the scoop presents a segmental form, being inpreferred arrangement substantially a quadrant of the circle; and thatits front and rear or forward and trailing walls are disposedconvergently substantially on radii of the same circle. This is withreference to the direction of rotationef the scoop which is round thecircle referred to. Such arrangement permits the-scoops to be relativelythin edgewise as shown in Figure 3 and this is very important where thescoops are offset from the delivery troughs 33, and there is need for agreat number of the unitscomprising the dipping up scoops andcorresponding delivery troughs. The segmental or quadrant arrangementprovides even in a laterally thin scoop a great capacity for the liquidmaterial and its entrained solids. Moreover the quadrant arrangementwith the radial walls, when inverted provides a funncling arrangementfor directing the effluent to the outlet 38 and to the interior chamberof the hollow shaft. Moreover this quadrant form of scoop enables aradially deep inlet opening 33 to be formed in the front wall for thepurpose, when the scoop is in its lowermost adjusted position to dip upa great quantity of the material which thereafter cannot escape fromthis open ing It will be remembered that the lateral thinness (Figure 3)of the cutters places limitations so that it is desirable to increasethe radial length or height of the opening 39 for the purpose in onepassage through the liquid of dipping up a substantially ample quantity,and thequadrant arrangement affords the capacity to do so while, also,when inverted, contributing to the rapid evacuation of the scoop.

The quadrant arrangement in-its relationship to the direction ofrotation of the scoop also prevents escape of the material out throughthe radially deep opening 3d because the long curved In comparison tocases where the eiiluent is led out axially at the open ends of theoperating shaft 35, where there is ordinarily no or little inclinationfor gravity flow, the outlet ports 40 '(Figures 3 and 5) present aradial outlet from the chamber 42 of the shaft 35 such that when theport 5-3 is down the full force of gravity acting directly earthwardwill tend to evacuate. the shaft chamber 42 in the quickest space oftime thus contributing'to the efiiciency of the device and permitting ofaxially short chambers 42 in the l hand.-

lg large quantities of the liquids; this bein importantwhere largenumbers of the unitscomprising the scoops and launders 43 areto. bemounted in offset relation axially along said shaft to provide a numberof discharges fordifferent destinations.

It will be appreciated that the screw-and v wedge regulating deviceaccomplishes the delicate and exact control of. the feeder deliverywithin a limited range. In case of the device being transferredto'another service, in a different range, outside of that attainable bythe wedge adjustment, change of capacity would be'accomplished byvariation of the elements of the drive or change in motor speed.

It will further be appreciated that the inven-' liquid fed, and alsocapable of being readily ad'- justed for service in another capacityrange but under equally close regulation.

Referring more particularly to Figure 6, I have shown a modified form ofadjustment which might be used in place of the wedge adjustment.Substantially vertical set screws 59 are threaded through tappedopenings in the platform or tilting frame 413 after the manner ofjack-screws. The lower ends of the screws 59 engage a fulcrum or block68 carried by the tank or an extension thereof or any fixed part. Locknuts 6| may be used to bind the screws 59 in the adjusted position. Bybacking oil the lock nut, 6i the screws 59 are free to be turned in oneor theother direction which will increase or shorten the length of thescrews between the fulcrum block 60 and the platform 63 and this lengthis of course de terminative of the angular position of the platform andthe degree of submergence 0f the scoops in the liquid body.

It will be appreciated that the decive may be used for collectingsamples, which samples are conveyed to destination by means of thelaunders 43.

On the feeding device launders 43 may be con-' nected todifferent'machines so the feeder also in many instances.

eft 35 to have relatively great capacities for:

In flotation plants, most of the reagent feeders deliver the totalreagent in one stream sufficient for a plurality, for instance 5,flotation machines. The bulk of the reagent is then divided into fiveportions by a mechanical distributer.

In accordance with the present invention as many scoops as there aremachines would be put on the shaft. The mechanical distributor would bethus eliminated. If then, one machine was to be shut down for anyreason, the operator would slip that launder from under the shaft andallow the reagent from that cutter to fall back into the tank.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in thedetails of construction and design of the above specifically describedembodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof,such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a liquid feeding device, a source of liquid, a hollow shaftjournaled above the source and having a chamber therein with inlet andoutlet ports axially offset and angularly displaced, meansgravitationally beneath the outlet for carrying off the efiiuent, and anaxially thin scoop placed axially beside said means and communicatingwith said inlet, said scoop fixed to and rotating with said shaft andbeing of segmental form inthe direction of rotation with substantiallyradial front and trailing walls having an inlet opening of great radiallength in said forward wall.

2. In a liquid feeding device according to claim 1 1, said inlet openingextending over the maximum radial length of said forward wall. 7 3. In aliquid feeding device according to claim 1, said scoop having an outerarcuate wall connecting at its rear with the outer part of said radialtrailing wall.

4. Ina liquid feeding device according to claim 1, a movable platformsupporting said shaft, and means to raise and lower said platform toalter the depth to which the scoop penetrates the source of liquid. 7

5. In a liquid feeding device according to claim 1, a movable platformfor carrying said shaft, power means mounted on said platform andcoupled to said shaft for rotating the shaft, and means coacting withsaid platform for raising and lowering the scoop with reference to thesurface level of the liquid source.

6. In a liquid feeding device according to claim 1, a platform pivotallysupported above the source and carrying said shaft, and wedge meansengaging beneath said platform for elevating and lowering the scoop withreference to the liquid source. 7

CHARLES W. MORSE.

